Wales star Gareth Bale withdrew from Tottenham’s starting XI just minutes before kick-off after his girlfriend went into labour today.

Wales football star Gareth Bale was forced to ditch his team-mates at the 11th hour and make a speedy dash to attend the birth of his first child.

Bale withdrew from Tottenham’s starting XI less than an hour before the Premier League clash with European champions Chelsea after being told long-term girlfriend Emma Rhys-Jones had gone into labour yesterday morning. SAT

The 23-year-old, who produced two sensational performances for Wales in last week’s World Cup qualifiers against Scotland and Croatia, had officially been named on the Spurs team sheet before telling club bosses he could not play in the match at White Hart Lane.

Spurs boss Andres Villas-Boas refused to divulge any details about Bale’s late departure, but he insisted the club fully respected the player’s decision not to play in what turned out to be a 4-2 defeat for his team.

“It is a personal matter, so it is not for me to discuss,” he said.

“It would have prevented him playing with the right frame of mind and we respect that.

“That is why he wasn’t involved today.”

Gareth and Emma, who met in Cardiff as teenagers, currently live together in London and are understood to be expecting a baby girl.

Speaking earlier this year, Bale admitted for the first time that the famous heart sign he makes after scoring every goal is for his childhood sweetheart Emma.

“I hadn’t been playing for a while and I was with my girlfriend and she asked what I would do if I scored,” he explained.

“I told her I would make the ‘heart’ sign but I wasn’t sure when it would happen. When I eventually scored I did it and my girlfriend thought it was great.”

Following Spurs’ defeat at Chelsea, hundreds of fans took to Twitter to wish the Wales international well as he prepared to become a father.

Bale only joined the social networking site last month but has already acquired more than 127,000 followers.

Last night fans were still waiting for official confirmation of baby Bale’s arrival into the world.

The down-to-earth footballer is known for shunning the limelight off the pitch and has always been reluctant to talk about his relationship in public.

He previously said: “I don’t go out, so I don’t get attention from girls.

“They’re not going to have posters of me on their walls.

“I play computer games, watch TV and do what normal people do.”

In the past three seasons, Bale has established himself as one of the hottest properties in world football following a series of world class displays for his club and country.

He was crowned PFA Player of the Year in 2011 and was also named in Uefa’s European Team of the season last year.

Bale began his career at Southampton FC after being spotted by a talent scout playing for local youth side Cardiff Civil Service.

He was a pupil at Whitchurch High School where he played in the same football team as Welsh rugby captain Sam Warburton.

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